


The Storm of Tranquility

by this_is_the_end



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 16:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7899658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/this_is_the_end/pseuds/this_is_the_end
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Peace and quiet can be a storm<br/>I’ve seen it once or twice<br/>The raging winds of solitude<br/>The stillness, cold as ice<br/>Raining emptiness into my head<br/>And flooding it with despair<br/>I once welcomed tranquility<br/>And now…<br/>I don't even dare"</p>
<p>-William McLaughlin</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Storm of Tranquility

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MidnightWolf697](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightWolf697/gifts).



> (updated to gift to MidnightWolf697 because she is the one that originally inspired all this. She's amazing like that.)

They come late at night. There's nothing she can do. Frost prickles at her fingertips as lightning boils in her veins but the fight is lost, lodged deep in her throat as her last scream tears itself free from her ribcage. She fights - _oh she fights_ \- but her spit is not filled with enough venom and her kicks are thwarted by sheets tangled around her legs. Their iron gauntlets tear through the silk - her blood mars the white surface as she fights against their blades.

Later, she will wonder how they got in. Later, she will compare the frost on her fingertips to the cold iron biting into her wrists. Later, she will try to remember Anders biting into her collarbone instead of the screams she swears she can hear echoing through Hightown. Later, she will pray for Anders to forgive her. 

~~

Anders tears the world apart. His wrath shakes the very core of the Fade and tears it asunder - he splits it in two and shoves demons through the cracks. He watches the Chantry burn before him in his every waking hour - he still hears the screams, _Maker forbid any of them are hers_ , and he fights all the harder. He tears the world apart in his search for her and is met with only silence - the Fade cries to him and _begs_ but he ignores the pleas. 

Justice asks once and Anders lets his rage consume the spirit. Justice does not ask again.

~~

She hears the explosion as they shove her to her knees. She pushes with all her might against their restraints - she reaches desperately for her magic, grasping for _anything_ that might aid her. She is met with pinpricks of pain that remind her _she is a slave now_ and then she starts screaming. She screams insults and accusations - she screams false prophecies in a hope that they might listen to her. She screams until her throat is raw and they are forced to gag her - she lashes out with sharp canine teeth and is met with a fist to her nose. Blood pours down her face and hands hold her back - she feels the warm liquid begin to drip down her neck. 

Their footsteps draw closer and she can feel their hold on her magic grow tighter. It grasps at every one of her ribs and each breath she takes is now labored and forced - she sees stars behind her eyelids and tries to remember how to _breathe_. Instead, she starts to sob; tears mingle with blood too easily, she thinks.

She remembers Carver and Bethany - _oh, how she remembers Bethany_. She can still see flower crowns in her sisters' hair and she can still see the sun illuminating behind her. She hears Bethany's laugh just as clearly as she hears her dying scream. She remembers Carver and how frustrated he would get when she would best him in a fight. She remembers their laughter filling their small home and she remembers just how much he looks like their father. She remembers their smiles and she remembers late nights spent up with her brother. She remembers the day that he left for the Templars and the look on their mothers' face. She can still see her mothers' heartbreak that so clearly echoed her own. She can still see her mothers' ashen face fading away in her arms in the depths of that cave.

She pleads through the gag, begging for them not to take away her memories of Carver. She's the last family he has, she screams. She is met with blank stares and a white hot brand shoved against her skin.

Her screams echo through the Gallows but are masked by all the rest. Somewhere, the Fade stirs, and Anders falls to his knees.

Her last memory is of Anders' smile.

~~

The Gallows were chaotic in the days following the madness that Anders unleashed. Carver was kept busy with abominations and other odd claims - he almost pictures himself finally filling his sisters' shadow. He gets an odd sense of pride at that, and thinks of his next visit to see her fondly. He walks through the Gallows with a purpose he has not had in a long time. 

He comes to a stop in the courtyard, puzzled as to what he sees before him. He can almost make out the shape of his sister, but surely he must be mistaken - after all of this, it is hard to believe she would wander into the Gallows willingly. He takes joyful steps towards her, ready to compare tales of battle and relish in their victory.

He stops dead in his tracks when she turns to greet him.

"Is there some way I can be of service, Ser Carver?"

~~

Somewhere in the Fade, Justice roars.


End file.
